Cleaning Up Blight on Wilton Properties: How Underlying Issues, Foreclosure Threats and Changing Laws Impact Wilton’s Blight Conditions
Industry Update
October 3, 2023
Source: Good Morning Wilton
First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice has a list of projects and tasks she is trying to complete as the end of her term approaches. Among them is the resolution of foreclosure proceedings against a blighted residential property that the Town initiated after years of warnings, fines, and offers of assistance.
It’s not the first time during her tenure that the Town has resorted to foreclosure action for unresolved blight on a residential property. Vanderslice made the issue of blight a priority when she first took office, at a time when there were at least a dozen lingering cases.
Most were satisfactorily resolved, but three resulted in foreclosure actions by the Town. In one such case, the Town recouped over $100,000 for unpaid fines, interest and legal expenses. In a second case, the start of foreclosure action motivated the homeowner to finally address the blight, and the Town withdrew the foreclosure action. The third case is still ongoing, but the Town agreed to postpone the scheduled foreclosure sale when the homeowner made good-faith efforts to rectify the situation.
Until now, Wilton’s blight ordinance applied only to residential properties, but with a recently codified state statute that applies to commercial properties, Wilton will have even more leverage to address blight issues in Wilton.
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